ESPN’s dismissal of high government Lee Becoming — a senior vp of manufacturing who had been on the firm for greater than 25 years — was a thriller for a lot of on the firm in August 2023.
Others had been shocked that it hadn’t occurred a lot sooner, in response to The Athletic, which reported Wednesday that Fittings’ dismissal occurred after an HR grievance about inappropriate conduct in 2023.
Shortly after the grievance was made, an investigation came about, which included ESPN officers questioning a number of staff, together with “some prominent female staffers.”
A memo despatched by Norby Williamson, one other high exec at ESPN, on Aug. 21, 2023, stated Becoming was “no longer with the company” and ESPN can be “finalizing a new production structure” for the reveals he oversaw, together with “College GameDay” and “Monday Night Football.”
He was escorted out of the constructing by safety only one week earlier than the 2023 faculty soccer and NFL seasons.
Becoming joined WWE as the corporate’s head of media and manufacturing in January, 5 months after he was ousted at ESPN.
The Athletic spoke to greater than 20 girls — together with six who participated within the community’s 2023 investigation — who described a office tradition beneath Becoming that had offensive and sexual language, together with lewd jokes about girls and their look.
The ladies, who’re present and former staff of the community, requested anonymity as a result of they nonetheless work in sports activities media.
“I can’t believe it took this long,” one girl stated.
“It finally caught up to him,” one other added.
A number of individuals recalled incidents wherein Becoming allegedly made feedback or gestures about girls, together with occasions once they weren’t current — which Becoming denied.
Becoming additionally allegedly bragged about his and his spouse’s sturdy intercourse life, a number of sources instructed The Athletic.
In 2012, some ESPN staff had been in a convention room in Bristol, Conn., to observe the NCAA males’s basketball event when Becoming allegedly made a remark a few girl — who was not current — and her capability to “open her throat” to down a beer, after which joked that the lady can be good at performing oral intercourse, in response to one individual current.
In 2014, there have been no chairs out there for a lady to sit down on throughout a manufacturing assembly, and Becoming patted his lap and stated to her: “I’ve got a seat right here for you,” an individual within the room stated.
One feminine ESPN worker stated Becoming instructed her, “You look hot,” in a textual content message despatched round 2018.
One other ESPN worker stated she was warned by different girls to not meet with Becoming alone whereas exterior of labor.
“Women had warned each other to be conscious of interactions with him,” she stated.
Some “College GameDay” staff stated Becoming would jokingly ask feminine staffers for his or her lodge room quantity and sometimes joked about performing mattress checks.
A supply instructed The Athletic that Becoming would make crude jokes in entrance of girls, and he’d use the phrase, “It’s OK, she’s one of the guys.”
Different allegations embody Becoming texting an ESPN worker, “You look hot,” and him insisting that an on-air expertise put on her hair in a ponytail earlier than telling her, “Put your hair up in a ponytail before I do it for you,” which he denied.
Becoming declined to touch upon “the broader characterization of him as someone who mistreated women during his tenure at ESPN or why he was let go by the network.”
In accordance with The Athletic, the ladies affected by Becoming’s alleged conduct felt as if they needed to keep quiet to maintain their jobs, not to mention advance professionally, at ESPN.
Becoming’s involvement within the notorious “College GameDay” Emmy scandal did play a “factor” in his dismissal, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported in January.
